James, along with his mom, Debora McNeil, and sister, Jeanette, 10, were among a panel of six parents and 11 kids invited by the Sentinel to review six children's shows.

The panel also included Bill and Theresa Brazee of Deltona, and their daughter, Hope, 5, and son, Cole, 4; Kevin and Debby Robinson of Altamonte Springs, parents of daughters Ryan, 9, Ashley, 8, Katrina, 7, Jordan, 3, and sons Brandon, 6, and Michael, 4; and Natalie Lewis and her daughter, Morgan, 11, of Orlando.

Panelists devoted several hours this past weekend watching six of the higher-profile kids shows that are new this fall season.

Two are preschool shows - Nickelodeon's Blue's Clues and PBS' Arthur. One is a superhero action program - Fox's Big, Bad Beetleborgs. Another is a live-action family sitcom - CBS' Bailey Kipper's P.O.V. And two are cartoons - ABC's Brand Spanking New Doug and The WB's Superman.

In general, the panel gave the most praise to Arthur and Blue's Clues.

Why? The panelists said it had the characteristics you'd hope to find in any quality show: Humor, engaging characters, a storyline with a positive and realistic message.

The shows - selected to represent a range of genres and target ages - were graded by parents and kids for their entertainment and educational value, and mes-

sages about violence and morals.

The programs are among more than three dozen new children's shows this season, an onslaught inspired by a recent Federal Communications Commission mandate that commercial broadcast networks - excluding cable - provide at least three hours of children's education fare a week starting in fall 1997.

Bill Brazee, 34, who works as a sales representative in Orlando, said he would rather send his young children outside to play than watch much of what's on TV. But he gave Arthur - based on the Marc Brown books about the life of a school-age aardvark - high marks for its sensitive and humorous treatment of such issues as peer pressure and proper behavior.

''I could sit there with my two kids and watch it and enjoy it, as well as realize they're going to learn something,'' he said.

Debora McNeil, 34, who works as a school volunteer, praised Arthur for showing that boys and girls can excel at the same things and still be friends.

''It was very, very realistic, even though it was a cartoon,'' she said. ''It taught lessons without being preachy.''

Blue's Clues - in which singing, dancing host Steve (Steven Burns) solves puzzles with help from his animated puppy, Blue - was Debby Robinson's favorite show. Perhaps because it inspired rapt attention from the family's six youngsters, who didn't take such interest in the other shows.

''It's big. It's colorful,'' said Robinson, 35. ''It's geared toward smaller children, but there are a lot of children that it can help with teaching manners . . . (and) how to act toward others.''

But Blue's Clues was too slow moving for Natalie Lewis, even for the preschool set.

''It just went on too long,'' said Lewis, 37, who works as a probation officer for the state. ''Longer than a 2- to 5-year-old would be able to handle.''

Among the other shows, some parents found a disturbing message in Bailey Kipper's P.O.V., in which the title character (played by Michael Galeota) records his family's life through a series of hidden video cameras placed in their house.

''It shows that the kids are smarter than the parents,'' said Theresa Brazee, 32. ''And when one kid says, 'Duh!,' to his sister - I hate that.''

The Lewises gave a mixed review to the Power Rangers spinoff Big, Bad Beetleborgs, a show that earned criticism from other panelists. Natalie Lewis said her 5-year-old nephew loves the show, but she was troubled by the use of flames for special effects.

''For that age range, the fire really bothered me,'' she said. ''When kids see something like that it could lead to something dangerous.''

Debora McNeil said Beetleborgs represented ''everything I despise in TV.''

''It was totally unoriginal; it ripped off everything from The Power Rangers to (the movie) The Mask,'' she said. ''It was junk TV - plain and simple.''

Among the cartoons, Morgan Lewis, a sixth-grader at Piedmont Lakes Middle School, said Brand Spanking New Doug wasn't as good as the original Nickelodeon show.

''The characters are sort of different - the way they talk and act,'' she said.

Superman - in which the title character meets an enemy strengthened by exposure to a hazardous chemical - was rated as too intense for younger children by most parents.

''It was way too violent,'' said Theresa Brazee. ''For a cartoon, it's very realistic, but not in a good way.''